Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Dollard St. Laurent

Dollard Herve Joseph St. Laurent

As a Quebec-born lad with a dashing francophone name, Dollard St. Laurent was a natural to enter the Montreal Canadiens' chain. The question would be, how high could he climb?

He started out with the Jr. Canadiens of the QJHL where he skated for two seasons from 1947 to 1949. There he demonstrated an offensive touch and an ability to play a tough game of defense at the other end of the ice.

In 1949-50, St. Laurent started a three-year relationship with the Montreal Royals of the QSHL. He spent most of his time sharpening the finer points of his game while putting them to the occasional test by joining the Habs for a couple of stints.

Around 1952-53, however, the Canadiens began to introduce significant new blood in the form of Jacques Plante and Dickie Moore among others. One of the others included St. Laurent who settled onto the Habs' blueline corps as a stay-at-home regular. Over the six seasons that followed, he doled out tough bodychecks and adhered to defensive zone fundamentals in textbook fashion. His efforts contributed to three-straight Stanley Cup victories between 1956 and 1958.

After the third championship, St. Laurent was sold to the Chicago Blackhawks who were gradually assembling a lineup bent on bringing Lord Stanley to town after a lengthy absence. In 1960-61, the troops pulled together and finally ended the championship drought by ousting the Red Wings in the finals.

St. Laurent continued to clear creases for the Hawks until the end of the 1961-62 campaign. The following year, he was dispatched to the Quebec Aces of the AHL. But in spite of his demotion, he felt that he could still perform at the NHL level. His friend, defenseman Doug Harvey, lobbied to have him transferred to the Rangers, but a deal couldn't be worked out. In the meantime, St. Laurent took a hard fall to the ice in Quebec, breaking his leg and ending his aspirations to make it back to the top. At the end of the season, he announced his retirement.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1947-48

Montreal Jr. Canadiens

QJHL

15

3

10

13

12

1948-49

Montreal Jr. Canadiens

QJHL

44

15

27

42

77

4

0

4

4

8

1949-50

Montreal Royals

QSHL

45

7

15

22

66

1950-51

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

3

0

0

0

0

1950-51

Montreal Royals

QMHL

57

12

30

42

69

7

3

2

5

14

1951-52

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

40

3

10

13

30

9

0

3

3

6

1951-52

Montreal Royals

QMHL

27

10

16

26

22

1952-53

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

54

2

6

8

34

12

0

3

3

4

1953-54

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

53

3

12

15

43

10

1

2

3

8

1954-55

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

58

3

14

17

24

12

0

5

5

12

1955-56

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

46

4

9

13

58

4

0

0

0

2

1956-57

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

64

1

11

12

49

7

0

1

1

13

1957-58

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

65

3

20

23

68

5

0

0

0

10

1958-59

Chicago Black Hawks

NHL

70

4

8

12

28

6

0

1

1

2

1959-60

Chicago Black Hawks

NHL

68

4

13

17

60

4

0

1

1

0

1960-61

Chicago Black Hawks

NHL

67

2

17

19

58

11

1

2

3

12

1961-62

Chicago Black Hawks

NHL

64

0

13

13

44

12

0

4

4

18

1962-63

Quebec Aces

AHL

54

3

14

17

34

NHL Totals

652

29

133

162

496

92

2

22

24

87

QJHL First All-Star Team (1949) QMHL Second All-Star Team (1951)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961)

Missed majority of 1947-48 due to collarbone injury vs. Verdun (QJHL), December 2, 1947. Traded to Chicago by Montreal for cash and future considerations (the loan of Norm Johnson, February 20, 1959), June 3, 1958. Traded to Quebec (AHL) by Chicago for cash, September 6, 1962.